Several people killed as lorry crashes into cars in County Durham, England

Several are said to have been killed after a heavy goods lorry crashed into cars and exploded on a busy dual carriageway at 6 pm Thursday.

A large rescue and recovery operation was started following the car crash on the A1(M) between Bradbury and Carville in County Durham, England.

Images from the scene indicated that a lorry had seemingly crashed with several cars before crashing into the central reservation, partly crossing it, and igniting.

The crash was strewn for several hundred feet down the road behind the heavy goods lorry. One white Range Rover was badly damaged, while other cars were written off.

Police appealed for dashcam footage to help understand the crash.

Emergency services were present at the scene in the early hours of Friday.